Chapter XXXVII: Sickness of the Mind
Thorin paced up and down the empty halls of Erebor in a frustrated manner. The sound of his deliberate footsteps echoed against the cold walls of his newly reclaimed kingdom. Bilbo and the other dwarves were huddled around together on the other side of the room. The dwarf King had not spoken to any of his men since Smaug flew off to Laketown, except to give any sharp orders. The other company members could easily sense their King's sour mood, and they put in a lot of effort in avoiding any nasty confrontations. This meant that most of the time the long hallway (where the company had been settling in for the past few nights) was often filled with no more than a deathly silence.
"Ah-ah-ahchooooo!" Ori sneezed without warning, unable to hold the air inside his lungs any longer.
"Silence!" Thorin barked.
His fiery glare was enough to send the youngest dwarf retreating further into his corner with a sheepish expression.
"Lad, he did nothing to deserve that," Balin said firmly as he approached Thorin.
The dwarf King stopped pacing, and ran his fingers through his thick black hair in annoyance at his men (and to a large degree, with himself). Balin walked closer towards Thorin and placed his hand on his shoulder, all the while looking directly into his clouded eyes. The old dwarf was worried for Thorin, for he had seen such shielded eyes many years before, in another certain dwarf King from the line of Durin.
"You have not been yourself lately, Thorin," Balin lowered his voice so that only the dwarf King could hear his words.
"Can you blame me?" Thorin scoffed.
"I fear for you...for your wellbeing," Balin continued to press.
"How can I not be angry, Balin! The Arkenstone is yet to be found," Thorin moaned.
Balin's concerned face changed to a more sympathetic look.
"Do not berate yourself too harshly in regards to the whereabouts of the Arkenstone. The only place it can be is right here, inside the walls of Erebor - You know that. And you will find it, Thorin," he comforted the dwarf King.
Balin leaned over closer to Thorin before speaking in a changed tone, "Do not take offense in what I am about to say next. But I am rather stunned to find that you are not asking about Sophie and the rest of your men's health half as much as you do about the Arkenstone. What is wrong, Thorin?"
Thorin made no answer as he rubbed his forehead, as though he had a headache.
"Fili and Kili are capable warriors - They will look after Sophie and the others," he eventually said dryly.
Balin looked like he wanted to disagree and perhaps even argue further, but instead he pursed his lips together in a disapproving way.
"Thorin," Dwalin's voice suddenly called from the end of the room where the opening to the lookout was located.
The dwarf warrior strode up to Thorin, with an almost excited look on his face which Balin felt was so very uncharacteristic of his brother.
"What is it?" Thorin demanded.
"There is a barge sailing towards us."
Sophie could feel her heart beating faster as Bard safely directed the vessel onshore. Once they reached the edge of the mountainous terrain, they needed to walk a fair distance to even see the palace of Erebor. The group with Bard in the lead, soon arrived to near the top of the base of the mountain. To their delight, they saw the gates leading into Erebor standing ahead of them. Even from afar, Sophie could not help but gawk at the sheer grandeur of the dwarf Kingdom. Bard also seemed impressed and he let out a low whistle.
"It is truly something, is it not?" Fili asked the rhetorical question proudly.
The group followed the trail of the steep path, climbing over large boulders every so often. Sophie had lost count of how many moss covered rocks they had passed, when all of a sudden she realized how close the group was to Erebor. In fact, the tall stone door leading into the palace was less than thirty feet away from where the young witch was standing. A figure appeared from behind the mountain wall - Nori's triangular shaped head came into clear view.
"Fashionably late I see," the dwarf shouted to them cheerfully.
Sophie and the dwarves laughed as they sped up the final hill. To everyone's immense relief, the other dwarves and Bilbo also came out to join Nori. Sophie could feel her heart beating faster and faster when her eyes caught the familiar long black hair and intense blue eyes which were glued on the young witch. Unable to resist any longer, Sophie broke out into a sudden sprint, as she ran towards Thorin as fast as her legs could carry her. Thorin spread his arms out wide, catching the young witch as she hugged him tight. Sophie buried her head against Thorin's neck and breathed in as much as she could of his distinct scent.
"It's done. We did it - you did it," she repeated over and over again.
The dwarf King did not answer, his lack of response confusing Sophie. The young witch broke away from the embrace and looked at Thorin's face with a frown. The same handsome face was staring back at her, but a looming darkness seemed to have crept in, which troubled Sophie.
"Thorin?" She asked uncertainly.
Thorin briefly made eye contact with her. His deep blue eyes that used to be clear as water were now murky with an unknowing shadow.
Something was wrong...something was terribly wrong.
Thorin did not seem to notice the young witch's discomfort - his attention had already shifted from his concerned lady to Bard who was standing a few feet away from the rest of the group.
"Why have you come, bowman?" The dwarf King asked rudely.
"Thorin!" Sophie exclaimed in shock, but Bard swiftly intervened.
He gave the young witch a reassuring look before facing Thorin.
"First of all, I congratulate your efforts in reclaiming your kingdom. That was a truly honorable achievement," the bowman said sincerely.
Thorin did not appear to be at all impressed with Bard's words.
"I don't recall this as being any of your business," he replied bitterly.
"It was not," Bard pressed on, "That is, until the dragonyour company woke up destroyed almost all of Laketown."
"What is your point?" Thorin demanded.
"As the new master of Laketown, I humbly ask upon you to show mercy and assist the city's rehabilitation."
"So you have come to take dwarf gold? We are in no debt to the race of men," Thorin hissed.
The company members all stared in shock at their leader's words. Sophie could not believe how selfish Thorin was acting.
"Thorin, we have more than enough gold-" Balin said but he was swiftly cut off by Thorin.
"This gold is the blood and tears shed by my people! No help came to the dwarves when Smaug attacked Erebor, NONE!" He roared.
There was a slight pause that followed. Quite frankly, everybody was too dumbfounded to comment.
After some time, Bard spoke with disappointment carried in his voice, "If that is the King's decision, then so be it."
The bowman turned around to leave without further delay. Knowing she could not just stand and watch, Sophie moved away from Thorin's side and ran to catch up with Bard. She wordlessly walked down with the bowman towards where his barge was waiting at the edge of the water.
"Thorin is not thinking straight, anybody can see that," she said in a rush.
"I know," Bard replied.
There was no anger or hatred on the Bowman's face - only disappointment and worry. Bard leaned over to the young witch who was standing in front of him.
"I fear this Thorin is not the same dwarf who left Laketown," he said sadly.
"What do you mean? Thorin's intentions were for the good, and they still are," Sophie insisted, but she could not hide her doubtfulness completely.
"I just don't want to see you get hurt," Bard answered.
The young witch watched as Bard kicked his barge back into the deeper end of the lake.
"I will come back in the next sunrise. Let us all pray that Thorin will be more civilized," he said bitterly.
Bard gave Sophie a wry smile (the smile you give your friend when you have to say goodbye) before boarding the barge. The young witch waved the vessel off, before making her way back up to where the rest of the company members were inside Erebor.
Thorin was standing at the entrance of the gates when Sophie returned. The young witch assumed that Bilbo and the rest of the dwarves had retreated back into the palace.
"Why did you go with Bard" The dwarf King asked curiously.
Sophie looked up at his words, but to her relief the storm that had been clouding Thorin's eyes had cleared a little.
"Well, I'm here," she replied coolly.
Thorin walked over to meet Sophie halfway down the hill. He rested the young witch's hand over his own palm, before bringing her fingers to his lips. The dwarf King's advances towards Sophie was not gentle but they were more haste and hungry gestures. And as much as she loved him, Sophie was still very annoyed at Thorin for his insensitive actions towards Bard.
"You should not have sent Bard away like that, Thorin. He is right, you know - Laketown was brought down to almost ruin because of Smaug...Why can't you just share the gold?" The young witch gently chided.
Thorin seemed surprised at first, but he was quick to defend himself.
"I meant every word that I said. The wealth of the mountain is more than just gold - it is the glory and honor of my people...of my kin. I thought you would understand that," he said.
"I understand what this means for you, Thorin. Really I do," Sophie said, feeling bad after listening to the dwarf King.
"But still...could you not find a little mercy in your heart? Bard lost his daughter in the attack - Tilda was only one of many who perished in the dragon fire. If you had seen the ruins of the city you would understand," she pleaded.
"Why are you siding with the bowman? How can you not see my side of the argument, Sophie? You act as though my people have not endured any pain," Thorin said angrily, "I have seen the fires burn as well!"
Seeing this conversation was leading nowhere, Sophie sighed and shook her head.
"Never mind," she muttered quietly as she passed the dwarf King and made her way up through the gates on her own.
Sophie entered the palace of Erebor a couple of minutes before Thorin did. She wisely ignored the dwarf King, and instead occupied herself with studying the interior of the palace. The room she found the rest of the company members was long and the entire place echoed with every footstep. The young witch assumed this part of the palace must have been the main courtroom, and she could even spot a tall throne standing against the back wall.
Even after all those years, it was not very difficult for one to appreciate the magnificence of the grand architecture of Erebor.
When Sophie lifted her head up she could see hundreds of glittering spheres caused by the various crystals that were still impregnated against the stone surface. It reminded the young witch of the story Thorin had told her that night in Mirkwood, about the stars that lived inside the palace.
On the other side of the room, the young witch spotted Bilbo standing by himself a few feet away from the dwarves.
"Bilbo," she called out to the hobbit as she walked over towards him.
Bilbo smiled but he frowned as soon as he saw the scars and bruises all over Sophie's face and arms.
"Oh Sophie," he exclaimed sadly as he cupped her face in his hands.
The young witch was touched at the way Bilbo was clucking over her, mumbling angrily under his breath about "irresponsible dwarves" and "looking after a lady".
"It's fine," she said.
"What did Thorin say?" Bilbo pressed.
"Nothing, actually," Sophie answered.
She tried to shrug the matter off, but Bilbo was not going to buy any of it.
"Thorin is so obsessed with all that gold down there that he hasn't even noticed what you have been through!" He proclaimed in annoyance, pointing towards the stairs that lead down to where the mountain's wealth was kept.
"Please," Sophie whispered into Bilbo's ear, "Let's not make a big deal out of it now. Look at how happy the dwarves are - I don't want to ruin anything."
The dwarves excluding Thorin were standing in small groups of two's and three's, all laughing and giving each other different recounts of the same event. If there was anything, Sophie wished to spare them at least a moment from their troubles. Luckily, Bilbo understood what Sophie meant, and he nodded with a sigh.
"All right, if you say so. But we should still keep an eye on Thorin," he said and the young witch nodded in agreement.
It was just at that moment, dear reader, which the strangest thing occurred. As the little hobbit moved his arm up to give Sophie a pat, there was a sudden clank! sound. A small, golden piece fell out of Bilbo's vest pocket and dropped to the ground right in front of the young witch's feet. When the young witch bent down to take a better look, she found a gold ring staring back at her. Sophie picked the ring up from the ground and offered it back to her friend.
"You dropped this-" she started, but then something stopped her.
Sophie stared at the circular object sitting so innocently in the palm of her outstretched hand. She felt strangely drawn to the inanimate object, and yet its irresistibility repelled her at the same time. The young witch swore that for a split second, the ring actually whispered her name. Her sudden, unexplainable desire for the ring scared Sophie and she audibly gasped at the self-realization of her hidden greed. Bilbo nodded when he witnessed the young witch's reaction.
"The ring calls to me too," the hobbit said with a strange look in his face.
"Where did you find it?"
"In...in Gollum's cave. Nobody knows about it except you and that foul creature whom I won the ring from," Bilbo answered with only the slightest touch of hesitancy.
"It feels like...it's alive..." Sophie's voice trailed off as she stared at the frightening and beautiful ring again.
"But it's mine!" Bilbo said as he snatched the ring from Sophie and hid it away into his vest pocket, having sensed the young witch's awe with the object.
"Bilbo Baggins! I'm not a thief - I would never steal that ring from you," Sophie exclaimed, genuinely shocked at her friend's defensive response.
For a second, Bilbo seemed equally surprised at his attitude as the young witch. He appeared slightly embarrassed as he gave Sophie a regretful look.
"I don't know what came over me...sorry," the hobbit apologized.
The young witch could easily hear the sincerity in Bilbo's words.
"That's okay," Sophie answered with a smile.
"So, do you think the ring is just a ring, or some form of magic?" She asked in a more casual tone (for the ring was now out of her sight and the heavy feeling that had been pressing down on the young witch only moments before was gone).
"I am pretty certain it is magical," Bilbo said, a twinkle present in his eyes.
"Oh really? How come?" Sophie asked with raised eyebrows
"Well, it makes me invisible...when I put the ring on my finger, of course."
The young witch was definitely surprised at that answer. She had never heard of such jewelry being forged in Middle Earth. If she was being completely honest with herself, Sophie could not decide if Bilbo being in possession of such a ring was a good or bad idea, and its mysterious powers were hard to ignore. But anyhow, Bilbo was the ring's new keeper and Sophie reluctantly shrugged off any discomfort she felt about it. Instead, she smiled at the stout hobbit.
"You, Bilbo Baggins are full of surprises. Who knew you had an object like that ring in your pocket this entire time," Sophie joked.
Bilbo laughed along for a few moments, but his eyes kept wandering left and right, as if he wanted to say something more. The hobbit cleared his throat and looked at Sophie with serious eyes.
"That's not the only thing in my pocket," he said in a low voice.
Bilbo continued speaking before the young witch could ask, "Sophie...I have something to show you."